UVA School of Data Science

What UVA School of Data Science does

The UVA School of Data Science is a constituent academic school of the University of Virginia, established in 2019 as UVA's 12th school and the first stand-alone data science school in the nation. Originating from the Data Science Institute founded around 2017 under founding dean Philip E. Bourne, the school is headquartered at 1919 Ivy Rd., Charlottesville, VA, in a dedicated building in the Emmet-Ivy Corridor that opened in 2024. It operates with approximately 121 employees and serves undergraduate (BSDS) cohorts including a first class of 75 majors, master's students in both residential and fully online formats (MSDS), and fully funded PhD students. The school explicitly positions itself as a "school without walls" emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration across UVA schools and with industry, government, and nonprofit partners.

The school's core platform integrates data science education across machine learning, AI, statistics, and domain applications. It maintains dedicated faculty research labs including the Aikyam Lab (trustworthy ML), the RISE Laboratory (reasoning and knowledge discovery), and the MEA tool for multimodal explanation generation, and has produced proprietary methodological contributions such as the second-generation p-values framework developed by interim Dean Jeffrey Blume. The BSDS program offers four concentrations (Analytics, Systems, Design, Value) plus optional collaborative concentrations with accounting, astronomy, environmental science, mathematics, and neuroscience programs. Operational technology includes the Stellic Degree Management Platform for course scheduling and degree tracking. Research output spans text, image, structured-data, and multimodal AI applied to trustworthy AI, climate AI, healthcare, urban planning, and 3D generative models.

The school's revenue model combines tuition and fees (subscripted annually by enrolled students across BSDS, MSDS residential, MSDS online, and PhD programs), externally funded research grants from corporate and institutional sponsors (Google Cloud Credits, Capital One Fellowships, UVA Environmental Institute CoLab grants, Carnegie Corporation), and philanthropy (the $120 million founding gift and subsequent Stephenson endowment and scholarship gifts). As an academic unit of a public state university, the school does not independently disclose revenue. The school is governed under UVA's institutional structure and is not a publicly traded entity.

Name

UVA School of Data Science

Legal name

UVA School of Data Science

Website

https://datascience.virginia.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The UVA School of Data Science is the University of Virginia's 12th school, established in 2019 as the first stand-alone data science school in the nation. It offers BSDS, MSDS (residential and online), and PhD programs, conducts interdisciplinary AI/ML research, and is supported by ~121 employees and industry research partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Technology & Computer Science Universities (EDAHALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Science & Analytics (Data Literacy, SQL, Visualization) (EDAMACAF)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Data science education
• Academic degree programs
• University research
• Graduate education

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue generated from undergraduate, graduate, and professional education programs including BSDS, MSDS (residential and online), and PhD programs. PhD students receive full funding including tuition, health insurance, and annual stipend.
2. Research Grants: Funding from external sources including Google Cloud Credits ($20,000 to Chirag Agarwal), Capital One Fellowships, Environmental Institute CoLab grants ($70,000), and Carnegie Corporation of New York for supporting undergraduate research.
3. Philanthropy and Donations: Major donations including $120 million founding gift (largest in UVA history at the time), $10 million from Scott and Beth Stephenson for scholarships, and support from Jaffray Woodriff/Quantitative Foundation for building and programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The UVA School of Data Science operates as an academic unit of the University of Virginia delivering degree programs and research in data science. It offers a B.S. in Data Science (BSDS) with concentrations in Analytics, Systems, Design, and Value; an M.S. in Data Science (MSDS) in both residential and online formats; a fully funded Ph.D. in Data Science; combination/dual degrees; and non-degree professional programs, supported by a capstone with industry sponsors, scholarships, study abroad, and a faculty-led research portfolio spanning trustworthy AI, climate AI, generative AI, and computational social science.

Product overview

The UVA School of Data Science offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs and services. At its core are degree programs including the B.S. in Data Science (BSDS), Minor in Data Science, Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) in both Residential and Online formats, and Ph.D. in Data Science. The School also provides non-degree Professional Programs, Combination Degrees, and experiential features like the Data Science Capstone with industry sponsors. Supporting programs include the Stephenson Bicentennial Scholarship, study abroad opportunities in Denmark/Sweden/Spain, and the Data Points Podcast. The undergraduate BSDS features core concentrations (Analytics, Systems, Design, Value) and optional collaborative concentrations spanning accounting, astronomy, environmental science, human movement and physiology, mathematics, and neuroscience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Data Points Podcast: A Data Science Podcast produced by the UVA School of Data Science featuring discussions on data science topics, research, and industry applications.

Products and services

• B.S. in Data Science (BSDS)
• Minor in Data Science
• Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) - Residential
• Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) - Online
• Ph.D. in Data Science
• Combination Degrees / Dual Degrees
• Professional Programs (Non-Degree)
• Stephenson Bicentennial Scholarship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• First-of-its-kind BSDS program with 75 new undergraduate majors in inaugural cohort
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UVA Environmental InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026UVA Environmental Institute awarded a $70,000 CoLab grant to Mona Sloane, Chirag Agarwal, and Antonios Mamalakis for the 'Community Climate Knowledge and Multimodal Climate AI' project (July 2026 - June 2028). The project explores integrating community-generated knowledge into AI climate models for locally relevant forecasts and equitable data governance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science: Cornell's Bowers CIS combines computer science, information science, and statistics into an interdisciplinary computing college. Comparable to UVA SDS in interdisciplinary data science focus and competing for similar students and faculty.
• University of Michigan School of Information: UMSI offers bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs in information and data science. Competes directly with UVA SDS for similar student profiles and faculty in applied data science education.
• Georgia Tech College of Computing: Major computing college with strong data science and AI programs, and the well-known online OMSA program that directly competes with UVA SDS's online MSDS for working professionals.
• Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science: One of the top-ranked CS schools globally with deep data science and AI programs, including the world's first undergraduate AI degree. Competes directly with UVA SDS for top faculty hires and PhD students in ML and data science.
• Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI): Stanford's AI research and education institute focused on AI for societal benefit. Directly comparable to UVA SDS's responsible data science mission and competes for the same research faculty and PhD candidates in trustworthy AI.
• Northwestern McCormick School of Engineering - MSAI Program: Northwestern's MSAI and Computer Science programs compete for top-tier AI and data science PhD students and faculty, with similar interdisciplinary focus across engineering and applied data science.
• NYU Center for Data Science: NYU's CDS offers undergraduate and graduate data science programs with similar interdisciplinary structure. Direct competitor for data science students and faculty in the Eastern US research university market.
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing: MIT's dedicated computing college, also established in 2019 with a $1B founding gift, pioneering interdisciplinary computing and AI education. Directly comparable mission, similar founding-era positioning, and competing for the same top-tier faculty and PhD talent.
• UC Berkeley Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS): Berkeley's CDSS launched in 2018 as a pioneering division focused on data science education and computing with societal impact. Highly comparable to UVA SDS in mission, structure, and pioneering positioning within a major public research university.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences: Major iSchool with online MS in data science and information programs that directly compete with UVA SDS's online MSDS for the same working-professional market segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uvadatascience
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@uvaschoolofdatascience571
• Facebookfacebook.com/uvadatascience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/uvadatascience
• Instagraminstagram.com/uvadatascience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UVA School of Data Science